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S.H.I.E.L.D. (video game)
Lost Frontline is a military science fiction third-person shooter video game developed by Nice Cat and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4. It was released worldwide on June 23, 2017. The game focuses on the troops of Echo Dawn, as they fight off a dangerous foe called the Hydron. The player assumes the role of Andrew Jones, a former prisoner and war-hardened soldier, and Tarik, a biogenetically enhanced gorilla who is accompanied by a human girl named Ky and an enhanced leopard named Kesey while Andrew is accompanied by his squad mates Jamie Rennes, Michael Lenard, George Willis, and Henry Olson. Development on Lost Frontline began after the release of The Death of Life. Several employees from former video game developer Junction Point Studios joined Nice Cat after Junction Point's closure in January 2013. Actors Nicolas Cage, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, John DiMaggio, Johnny Depp, Taylor Cole, and Nolan North portrayed Andrew, Jamie, Michael, George, Henry, Tarik, Ky, and Kesey respectively through voice and motion capture. The story was written by science fiction author Karen Traviss. The original score was composed and performed by Gustavo Santaolalla. Following its announcement in October 2015, Lost Frontline was widely anticipated. Upon release, it received universal acclaim, with praise directed at its narrative, gameplay, visual and sound design, characterization, Depp and Cage's performances, and depiction of female characters. Lost Frontline became one of the best-selling games on the PlayStation 4, selling over 1.3 million units in its first week and over eight million units within four months. Gameplay Lost Frontline is a third-person shooter that places emphasis on using cover to avoid taking damage while moving towards enemy forces. The game uses a number of weapon archetypes, similar to that of Gears of War. Playable characters can carry two primary weapons, grenades, and a smaller, secondary weapon. However, instead of the "Crimson Omen", a red cog representing the player's health gauge, the game features a system similar to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(series) Halo series] of video games. The player character has both a regenerating shield and health, the latter of which can be replenished by a health pack. The player can seek cover to recover their shield, but if they take too much damage, they will become incapacitated. The player can then be revived by a teammate, executed by an enemy, or remain incapacitated until they "bleed out", dying from blood loss. Synopsis Setting and characters Lost Frontline takes place on an Earth-style planet called Jericho. Plot Development Origin Several employees at Junction Point Studios originally began working on a planned Disney game dubbed Project Goliath. The game was set to tell the story of a biogenetically enhanced gorilla named Tarek, and his human friend Ky. Project Goliath took inspiration from popular platformers like Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Banjo-Kazooie. Junction Point also aimed to bring an open scope to the game akin to Shadow of the Colossus, which at the time was uncommon, especially for platform adventure games. After Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two was released in 2012, Disney abruptly shuttered Junction Point due to the disappointing sales of the sequel, and the fact that Avalanche Software was already hard at work on the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Infinity Disney Infinity series]. Junction Point attempted to salvage the company by pitching ideas like an Epic Mickey-esqe Donald Duck game, and a Disney kart racer, but it was too late, and Project Goliath never got its chance to be pitched to Disney. Not only that, but the team at Junction Point was later forced to remove themselves from the concept art created for the game, after it was discovered that one of the key artists had plagiarized some of the artwork for the game. For fear of being blacklisted, the team behind Project Goliath had to disassociate with the concept altogether. Following the release of The Death of Life in July 2013, developer Nice Cat began exploring new IP options. Several employees from Junction Point later joined Nice Cat. The concept of Project Goliath immediately caught Nice Cat's attention and expressed interest. Some of Project Goliath s concept were edited and changed as Nice Cat was planning a IP inspired by Gears of War. This would later evolve into Lost Frontline. Nice Cat president appointed Warren Spector as creative director and hired film director J.J. Abrams as game director. It was Abrams' first time working on a video game. Story writing For the writing of the story, hired and appointed science fiction author Karen Traviss as lead writer. Traviss previously served as leas writer for the Epic Games title Gears of War 3. Voice casting Like with The Death of Life, Nice Cat employed two Hollywood actors for the lead roles. Actor Nicolas Cage was chosen to play as Andrew Jones. Cage was hesitant at first as he wasn't into the gaming industry, but he was impressed by the script and later accepted the offer. Originally, Tarek wasn't suppose to have any diologue, but Spector felt Tarek would be more of a leader if he spoke. Johnny Depp was the first chose to portray Tarek. Depp, like Cage, has no interest in gaming, but he later jump at the chance to voice Tarek when he read the script. For the casting of Tarek's human friend Ky, actress Taylor Cole was approached for the part. Cole was impressed by Traviss' ability to write a story for a video game. Veteran voice actor Nolan North, who portrays protagonist Nathan Drake in Naughty Dog's Uncharted series, was chosen to play the role of Kesey in the game. When approached by Spector about the role, North immediately accepted the part, appreciating its diversity from his previous acting roles. Music and sound production Lost Frontline s soundtrack was composed by Argentinian musician Gustavo Santaolalla, who is best known for his work for the films Brokeback Mountain, and Babel, the video game The Last of Us, and the Netflix series Making a Murderer. Due to Santaolalla's stance on composing music—he lacks knowledge in reading and writing sheet music, preferring to simply record—he began working on Lost frontline early in development. To give Santaolalla a point to base his music, Abrams simply told him about the story and themes, as opposed to giving specific instructions on composing; Santaolalla appreciated this freedom, feeling it assisted in the composing. To compose, Santaolalla felt the need to "go into some more dark place, more textural and not necessarily melodic". Announcement In October 2015, prior to the announcement of the game, an Easter egg was found in Mission: Impossible - IMF 4 referencing the concept of Lost Frontline on an in-game newspaper; Nice Cat retroactively stated that the reference was supposed to be seen after the game's intended reveal at E3 in June 2015, but when the timing of the reveal itself was pushed to October, the team forgot to remove the reference. Release Lost Frontline was released as scheduled on June 23, 2017. Release trailers The game was extensively marketed through video trailers. The game's first trailer was released alongside the game's full announcement, showcasing the game's concept, characters and setting. For this trailer, the team held extended discussions concerning features of the gameplay to include. For the final design of the trailer, the team attempted to incorporate as many gameplay features as possible, including human antagonism, melee implementation, stealth, and character relationships. Reception Critic reviews Lost Frontline received critical acclaim, garnering an aggregate score of 97/100 on Metacritic. It is the fifth-highest rated PlayStation 4 game on Metacritic. Reviewers praised the character development, story and subtext, visual and sound design, depiction of female and LGBT characters, and Johnny Depp and Nicolas Cage's performances. The game is considered one of the most significant titles of the eighth generation of video games, and has been included among the greatest video games of all time. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb gave Lost Frontline a review of 5 out of 5 stars; stating "Lost Frontline is a fantastic PlayStation game that would wanna make you feel like you're in a different Gears of War game that's not even on Xbox with an even bigger, better multiplayer suite". Lucy O'Brien at IGN admired its weight in meaning, while welcoming the charm of the protagonist's personality. A considerable impression was made with the combat, which was stated as the game's most compelling accomplishment. Game director Yoko Taro listed Lost Frontline as one of his favourite PlayStation 4 games. It also received praise from other video game creators, including Cliff Bleszinski and Greg Kasavin. Destructoid s Chris Carter commended Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp for their performances, with the characters of Andrew and Tarek receiving credit for maintaining a "captivating" and "interesting" consistency in the narrative and action sequences. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer also scored the game a 9.5 out of 10, writing, "Lost Frontline is the best non Gears of War yet, delivering a story I didn't want to end, and an adventure that concludes with a hell of a payoff." Reiner applauded the world design, story, gameplay, soundtrack and voice acting. Mike Mahardy from GameSpot scored the game a perfect 10/10, saying: "Lost Frontline is a challenge to the medium. In its writing, in its design, in its understanding of what makes games unique, Lost Frontline is something to aspire to. It's a shining example. And we'll be talking about it for years to come." Tom Senior of GamesRadar called Ky and Kesey "the greatest AI companions in games", in addition to the subtle use of visual and audio cues to add more character and its impact on the gameplay itself. Electronic Gaming Monthly s Nick Plessas scored the game a 9 out of 10, summarizing with: "Lost Frotnline is a true work of art, and the only time the slightest apprehension may surface is when one compares it to the titanic installments that came before." Sales Lost Frontline sold over 1.3 million copies within 24 hours of it's release. The game was the best-selling game during its release week in the UK. It surpassed Horizon Zero Dawn as as the biggest launch of a new intellectual property on the PlayStation 4 and is the most successful launch of any kind on the PlayStation 4 since Mission: Impossible - IMF 4 and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. According to the NPD Group, the game was the best-selling retail game in the US.June 2017 NPD: Lost Frontline Tekken and Injustice roundhouse kick the sales chart. JEFF GRUBB JULY 20, 2017 3:30 PM Accolades References Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment Category:Nice Cat games Category:Third-person shooters Category:2017 Games Category:PlayStation 4 Games Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment games